The View from 22 podcast: Ab Fab Britain, war on cycling and devolution dangers

Are young people in Britain now duller than their parents? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson discusses why Britain is now full of young puritans, compared to the Absolutely Fabulous generation who are living life to the full. Do pensioners buy more alcohol than young folk? Are those attending university no longer interested in experimenting like their elders did?

Brendan O’Neill from Spiked Online and The Times‘ Kaya Burgess also debate whether it’s time for a war on cyclists. Are we listening too much to pious, self-righteous cycling campaigners? Or are they just working to ensure our roads are safe for all users? And is cycling, or flying cars, the solution to solving transport congestion in our cities?

Plus, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman discuss why the drip drip of constitutional change threatens the Union, the latest Plebgate developments and the implications of the shipyard closures in Portsmouth.

You can subscribe to the View from 22 through iTunes and have it delivered to your computer every week, or you can use the embedded player below:

I have to say having been to Beijing the pollution there is awful. It’s a great city and the hustle and bustle of the place is outstanding but the rapid economic growth, the industry and the rise of the car have created huge problems with smog. I wouldn’t welcome a return to that in London.

dalai guevara

Oh, “somebody” is criticising the socialists there for being faster again than the socialist here. But where are the ‘red caps’ in Britain? They simply don’t exist.

Colonel Mustard

I always suspected it was just jealousy. The me me me in this case is actually you you you.

And again you miss the point by a wide country mile (1.609344 km).

Tee-hee.

dalai guevara

I am glad you can still laugh.
My point was of course a point to broaden the outlook, not to agree for the sake of agreeing.
I did that because I can.

Colonel Mustard

I suspect I laugh a lot more often, harder and with greater cause than you ever do (especially when reading “somebody’s” “comments” here). Let’s face it, your “point” was more a great blunted wedge of unknown origin and less certain direction than a point (or even Schwerpunkt).

Tee-hee.

dalai guevara

Yes, I like my wedges Belgian style, not soggy. Because I am presented with choice.
The point was crystal clear as ever. The red caps are on the streets right now, I have met them only last week on my trip to escape the climate of nonsensical partisanship for the sake of partisanship. Do you know what the red caps stand for? Do you know what they want? Are they the Ukip of France? They are on the street, that much is certain. Britain is too lazy to engage in such a way. I will admit I am old school with regards to such matters. I despair.

Colonel Mustard

Our military police are on the streets of France? Whatever for?

Hello

You think that England will tolerate an English parliament that is not Westminster, or a First Minister that does not live in Downing Street? A military that their elected executive does not have control over, despite financing more than 80% of it? Even an elected executive called “First” Minister rather than “Prime” Minister? No, no, no. England would not enjoy the process of making itself subsidiary.

The union is not reversible with any continuity, because England will want to preserve it’s history. The only way you could actually save the union would be if you disbanded it entirely and recreated it as a sort of supranational union, but there’s no reason to presume that there would be any demand for something like that after you’ve gone through the painful process of negotiating the break.

Much more likely that it will hobble on as a dysfunctional political entity, because England would prefer that the union were broken rather than tolerate the alternatives. If we remain in the EU, the likely outcome would be that the EU will eventually absorb sovereignty over things like defence policy to the extent that a sub-union is no longer necessary, and those powers can effectively be ceded to Scotland as Scotland will simply pass them to the EU.

Colonel Mustard

“Somebody” here was praising Hollande as a fellow traveller recently in his “All socialists good, all Tories bad” modus operandi.

“Having announced an assortment of taxes the previous week, Mr Hollande suspended most of them over the weekend after widespread popular protests. He had managed to unite unlikely bedfellows, more often at loggerheads against one another, in the fiercest demonstrations seen in Brittany in a decade.”